The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup has collectively been one of the best in baseball this season, but certain players are still trying to get on track. Among them is Chris Taylor, who enters play Sunday with only one hit in his first 32 at-bats.
“He’s scuffling, certainly,” manager Dave Roberts said of Taylor heading into the weekend. “I think in Spring Training and Seoul, I thought he was swinging the bat really well.
“So he’s a guy that is one of our core guys. And obviously with the injury to Jason (Heyward), I have some more runway to run him out there and run Kiké (Hernández) out there to get him some at-bats.
“He expects a lot of himself, and every time he gets in, I feel something good is going to happen. He’s always been a streaky guy, and so hopefully that’ll stop tonight and he can kind of find something that clicks for him. But I’m trying to give him some runway, as well as Kike, while Jason is down.”
While prolonged slumps can be difficult on players, Roberts praised Taylor for the way he has gone about himself. “He handles it really well. He comes in every day fresh, prepared,” Roberts said.
“With Chris, he’s not a guy that I really have to kind of coddle or pump up. He’s pretty turnkey as far as how he prepares each day, very levelheaded. He’s very mechanical, and you just hope that a swing, an at-bat kind of gets him on track.”
Taylor has struggled with inconsistency over parts of the last three seasons after earning his first All-Star selection in 2021.
“I don’t think anyone’s more frustrated than Chris is,” Roberts said. “And like I said, all spring and Seoul, he was squaring the baseball up, taking really good at-bats, minimizing the swing and miss. And once we started the season, it’s been different.
“He has been a streaky guy, and my trust hasn’t wavered in him. But we’ve got to keep running him out there, and hopefully something clicks.”
Is Chris Taylor healthy?
While Taylor has dealt with injuries in his career, Roberts confirmed that his slow start is not related to his health.
“At different times over the last few years, I think that might have been a component. But I think right now he’s healthy, he’s strong, and there’s nothing about the body for me that’s being detrimental,” Roberts noted.
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